Controller



wzcu u: HOUR H. H. LOGAN Dec. 5, 1939.

CONTROLLER I5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 2, 1936 7% fif y s.

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R P.M. OF CONTROLLIH Dec. 5, 1939.

H. H. LOGAN CONTROLLER Filed Dec. 2, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 u 72 2:9 ff. [41:11am

Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to controllers, and is particularly concerned with controlling devices for use on mine hoists, but the present controllers are adapted also to be employed in connection with movable bridges, elevators, and

other movable devices the speed of motion of which is to be controlled.

The present improvements are particularly applicable to the hoist control devices disclosed and covered by the reissued Letters Patent No. 17,374 of William J. Lilly and Henry H. Logan, reissued July 16, 1929.

The present improvements relate particularly to speed controlling features, and the governor device disclosed herein is adapted to be substituted bodily for the governor arrangement utilized in the hoist control of that patent.

The present specification is to be considered in the light of the disclosure of that patent, which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto, since the present application relates to improved features that may be added to the hoist controls of the type covered by the patent.

In the standard controller as embodied in the abovementioned patent, there is a flyball governor 22, comprising the balls 24 and push rod 23 carried by tubular shaft 16. This flyball governor is driven through the spur gears l1, l8 by the shaft I9, which is directly connected with the hoisting drum through suitable gearing so that the shaft l9 rotates at a speed which is proportional to the speed of rotation of the drum and therefore to the speed of movement of the cage or skip.

The push rod 23 is provided with a collar 25, which acts on a lever 26 pivoted at 21, and through the intermediary of suitable switches and signals the speed of operation of the hoist is controlled by the governor 22.

The governor 22 is adapted to give a signal through the operation of the switch if the hoist is operated at too great a speed anywhere throughout its range of travel. Through the intermediary of the mechanism disclosed in the patent, the governor is adapted to shut off the power when the skip or cage in the shaft exceeds a predetermined speed near either of its limits of travel, provided the engineer does not retard the speed at the proper time. An audible signal is first given to the engineer if the skip or cage exceeds the speed consistent with safety, and if the engineer fails to reduce the speed to a proper amount the governor and associated mechanism are adapted to open a switch which will shut of! the hoisting engine and apply the brake mechanism.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a more accurate governor control than it is possible to provide with a single governor.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved governor control which extends the speed range of the governor and produces a more accurate operating curve, and which has a. greater sensitivity at the high and low extremes of speed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved governor arrangement which requires a lesser variation of governor speed to produce a given reaction resulting in the control of the hoist or other movable member controlled by the governor.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved duplex governor head which is so constructed that it may be used to replace the standard single governor and mountings as used in the standard controller described in the above,patent.

Another object is the provision of an improved duplex governor which is also adapted to be used on the improved hoist controllers described in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 100,675, filed September 14, 1936, now Patent No. 2,146,124.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the three sheets of drawings, accompanying the specification,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a controller constructed according to the Lilly and Logan reissued Letters Patent, but also including a duplex governor constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the upper part of the controller;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 5, through the new duplex governor head;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the mechanism of Fig. 3, showing the operation of the flyball governors on the linkage controlled thereby;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view of the new duplex governor head;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the linkage arrangement of Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 7 is another end view of the duplex governor head, seen from the right of Figs. 3 or 6;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the characteristic curve of a duplex governor constructed according to the invention.

Since the present duplex governor head is adapted to be substituted for the fiyball governor arrangement of the Lilly and Logan patent mentioned above, the remainder of the controlling mechanism will be identical to that described in the patent, or to that described in the copending application, and hence the description of the complete device involves a reference to the patent mentioned. Indicating numerals applied to the elements of the present duplex governor are begun at a series above that used in the patent, so that similar numerals may indicate similar parts in the patent and in this specification.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 5 and '7, 201 indicates the new duplex governor head, which is provided with a gear housing 202, supported upon the vertically extending frame members 203, 201 and 209, and the bracket 204'. The bracket 204' is substituted for the bar appearing at the top of Fig. l of the patent and connects the switch box 41 to the duplex governor head 201. The brackets 203 and 201 are supported on the frame 1 of the controller of the patent.

Referring to Fig. 3, the shaft 204 replaces the shaft 19 of the patent, being connected through the drive gear 205, which is equivalent to the drive gear 20 of the patent, with the hoist drum or hoisting mechanism of any movable element to be controlled.

The hoist controller includes the same controls 9 and 10, which rotate with the movement of the skip or cage, and are provided with the same cams and other controlling mechanism described in the patent.

The fiyball governor 22 (Fig. 3) of the patent is replaced with the duplex fiyball governor head shown in Figs. 3, 5 or 7, the complete assembly appearing as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring, now, to Fig. 3, 203 indicates the bearing pedestal, which is provided with the bearing 206 for the shaft 204. 201 indicates the second bearing pedestal, housing and guard 206 for the adjacent gearing. 209 indicates a shaft housing for the vertically extending drive shaft 210. 211 indicates a bevel gear which corresponds to the bevel gear 18 of the patent referred to.

The gears 205 and 211 are fixedly secured by suitable keys and nuts to the shaft 204, to rotate therewith. 212 indicates a bevel pinion which is secured to the lower end of vertical shaft 210, and which meshes with the bevel gear 211. Bevel pinion 212 corresponds to the pinion 11 of the patent. The vertical shaft 210 is suitably mounted in the ball bearings located in the upper and lower ends of the tubular housing 209 and has its upper end projecting into the gear housing 202.

The upper end of vertical shaft 210 supports a drive gear 213, which is preferably made of a suitable impregnated fiber, such as Formica, or similar material adapted to reduce the noise resulting from gear operation.

The gear housing 202 is provided with suitable upwardly and downwardly extending tubular formations 214, 215 for housing the upper and lower ball bearings, which rotatably support the two governor shanks 216, 211. Each governor shank 216, 211 is preferably provided with a bearing supporting sleeve 218, which supports the inner races of the ball bearings and rotates with the shank. Each shank is provided with a suitable annular thrust shoulder 219, resting on the inner ring of the bearing, and just clear of the upper end of the sleeve 218, and each shank is provided with a reduced cylindrical portion 220 for receiving a gear.

The two fiyball governors may be indicated by the large letters A and B, reading from right to left, in order to facilitate the discussion of their action. The fiyball governor A is provided on its governor shank 216, at the reduced cylindrical lower end, with a relatively small metal gear 221, which meshes with the gear 213 and is driven at a relatively high speed by that gear, thereby rotating the governor A at a higher speed than the governor B. The shank 211 of governor B is provided with a relatively large metal gear 222 meshing with the gear 213, by which the shank 21'! of governor Bis driven at a lower speed than the speed of governor A at any instant.

Each of the governor shanks 216, 211 is provided with the axially extending bore 223, within which are slidably mounted the governor push rods or thrust spindles 224, 225. Each governor shank is provided with a cross head 226 at the top, the cross head being provided with pivots 221, 228 for the bell-cranks 229, 230, which carry the balls 231.

The bell-cranks 229, 230 are pivotally connected at 232 to the links 233, 234, which are pivotally connected to a cross head 235, which is fixedly secured to a rod or plunger 236. A spring 231, compressed between the cross heads 226 and 235, urges the plunger 236 upwardly. The thrust spindle 224 of the governor has a reduced end engaging in a socket in the plunger 236.

Each of the thrust spindles 224, 225 is provided with a thrust bearing housing 238, comprising a cup shaped member which houses a ball bearing, the inner race of which is secured by a nut to the thrust spindle 224 or 225.

The thrust bearing housing has a pair of spaced lugs 239 which engage on the opposite sides of the disc-shaped end 240 of a lever 241 or arm 242. The arm 241 is fastened to shaft 243, while the arm 242 is secured to shaft 244. Each shaft carries a pair of arms 245, 246, 241, 248. These arms are arranged in pairs in order that they may exert balanced forces on the yoke 249, which is acted upon by both of the governors A and B. The yoke 249 has a pair of legs 250, 251, and is pivotally mounted at the left ends of legs 250, 251 on the frame of the controller.

The yoke legs 250 and 251 are joined by cross frame members 252, 253, the latter of which has an outwardly projecting lug 254 for connection to the other mechanism of the control. In other words, the lever 26 of Fig. 3 of the Lilly patent is replaced by the yoke 249, which is adapted to be substituted in the mechanism of the standard controller. The yoke 249 is acted on by the use of connecting links 255, 256, these links being arranged in pairs on each side and connecting the levers 245 and 241 to the opposite ends of floating levers 251, which are pivotally mounted or the yoke 249 at 258. When either governor has its governor balls thrown out toward the position of Fig. 4, so that the thrust spindle 224 of that governor is forced downward, it reacts against arm 241 or 242. which causes a rotative movement of arm 24'! or 245 through the shafts 243 or 244, the latter arms connected on the connecting links 255 or 256, and drawing these arms upward, tending to draw with them the yoke 249.

Upward movement of the yoke 249 acts in the same manner as upward movement of the arm 31 in Fig. 2 of the Lilly and Logan patent referred to.

- .1 i lUi-Vi The governor B is preferably provided with an adjustment by means of which greater or less pressure may be exerted against the action of the governor B, as shown in Fig. 4. For this purpose an adjustment. rod 259 is provided, having a nut 260, which engages a spring 210.

The upper end of the rod is pivotally secured to an arm 26l carried by shaft 244, and the spring 210 reacts against bracket 263 so as to place an upward pressure on the plunger 259 and on the arm 26f, opposing the downward thrust of the thrust spindle 225.

Referring to Fig. 8, this chart shows a characteristic curve for a duplex governor. The curve is made by plotting the relative travel of the governor-operated member, that is, the end 254 of yoke 249, against the R. P. M. of the controller drive shaft, that is, the drive shaft 204 or the drum drive shaft.

A characteristic curve for a standard governor constructed as described in the patent mentioned flattens out considerably at the top, at, for example, the line 1.0 on the chart, and it reaches the base line at the bottom end at a considerable incline and at a point corresponding to a higher speed than that of the curve A, B of Fig. 8. This means that with the single governor arrangement of the patent it requires a greater variation of governor speed to produce a given reaction from that device, especially at the ends of travel, where it is extremely important to have sensitive operation.

The use of the duplex governor results in a controlling device which has a characteristic curve similar to that shown in Fig. 8. The curve does not flatten out until it reaches the upper part of the chart at the line 1.9 or higher, and the curve intersects the base line at a very low speed, somewhere between 5 and 6 R. P. M.

The operation of the duplex governor controller is as follows: When the shaft 204 is rotated, the fast running governor A will become active at a relatively low speed of the shaft 204, owing to the fact that it is geared up so as to rotate several times the speed of the shaft 204. As the speed of shaft 204 increases, the governor balls on the governor A rise quite rapidly, so that a very small variation in drive speed produces a variation in the position of the balls, and consequently in the movement of the linkages directly affected by this governor.

It will be apparent from the curve of Fig. 8 that relative travel of the governor operated member begins below a speed of 10 R. P. M. of the controller drive shaft, so that the governor A is adapted to begin to control speed at a much lower speed than the devices of the prior art.

By the time the governor balls of the governor A reach a point slightly below the horizontal center line on which the governor arms are suspended, the speed of the governor B will have reached a point where the arms of that governor swing outward and upward. A further increase in s eed will be reflected in the position of the balls of the governor B.

When driven at the correct maximum speed, there will still be a reserve in governor B to take care of the over-speed, and as the end of the hoist travel is approached the balls on the governor B will exert a control against failure to retard at the proper time and in the proper manner down to a point where the balls of governor A commence moving downward, after which governor A will control the lower speed of the hoist until it stops.

It should be noted that the floating levers combine the actions of both governors so that any movement in either or both governors will immediately cause a change in the position of the yoke 249. The connection of the yoke 249 at the point 254 to the other mechanism of the controller is the same as that in the standard controller, that lug 254 being pivotally connected at the point 50 to the link 49 and connecting rod 34, as shown in Fig. 3 of the patent.

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved duplex governor in which two centrifugal governors are so connected that the composite effect of these governors is used to control the speed of a mine hoist or other movable controlled member.

The range of speed during which effective control is exerted by the duplex governor is reatly increased and the sensitiveness of the governor is greatly increased by means of this arrangement. The duplex governor is adapted to exert a control at a much lower speed than the devices of the prior art, and it also has a reserve range of movement for the purpose of taking care of over-speed. The characteristics of the duplex governor are greatly improved over that of the devices of the prior art, and the sensitivity and safety of the controller are both favorably affected.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An engine controller comprising a shaft driven in synchronism with said engine, a pair of centrifugal governors having predetermined curves of operation, means for driving said governors in synchronism with said shaft at different speeds to provide a substantial overlapping of said curves of operation whereby the mean of one of said curves of operation is reached at one speed and the mean of the other of said curves of operation is reached at another speed of said shaft.

2. An engine controller comprising a shaft driven in synchronism with said engine, a pair of centrifugal governors having predetermined curves of operation, and means for driving said governors in synchronism with said shaft at different speeds whose ratio is such that the operation of said controller is represented by the substantial overlapping of the curves of the two governors in such manner as to give a smooth transition from one governor to the other and to produce improved operating characteristics.

3. An engine controller comprising a shaft driven in synchronism with said engine, a pair of centrifugal governors having predetermined curves of operation, floating lever means movably mounted upon a common actuated member to combine the controlling effects of said governors, and means for driving said governors in synchronism with said shaft at different speeds to provide a substantial overlapping of said curves of operation whereby the mean of one of said curves of operation is reached at one speed, and the mean of the other of said curves of operation is reached at another speed of said shaft.

4. An engine controller comprising a shaft driven in synchronism with said engine, a pair of centrifugal governors having predetermined curves of operation, floating lever means movably mounted upon a common actuated member to combine the controlling effects of said governors, and means for driving said governors in synchronism with said shaft at difierent speeds whose ratio is such that the operation of said controller is represented by the substantial overlapping of the curves of the two governors in such manner as to give a smooth transition from one governor to the other and to produce improved operating characteristics.

HENRY H. LOGAN. 

